Decorative cover for intravenous bag

Abstract

A cover for intravenous fluid bags is used to disguise the IV bag thereby reducing the level of patient fear and intimidation created by medical equipment and environments. The decorative cover can be shaped to portray a familiar object (animal, plant, vehicle), or be provided with a blank surface that can accommodate colorful stickers, drawings or removable interchangeable objects selected by the patient. The cover is comprised of an opaque front surface and an attachment means for attaching the cover to the IV bag or the IV stand. The cover is easily attached or removed by medical staff and does not obstruct the normal monitoring of fluid progress from the bag.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60 / 873,500 (Attorney Docket Number KFFS-P001V), filed Dec. 7, 2006 by inventor Karen Frances Frasier-Scott and entitled “Life Shield.”FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a covering for intravenous fluid bags used in the delivery of medical therapy to a patient. In particular, the present invention relates to a decorative cover for intravenous bags that when used, will reduce patient stress.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART[0003]Approximately 50,000 children each year in the United States are diagnosed with cancer and are hospitalized for treatment. In addition, several thousand more children are hospitalized for severe illnesses and accidents each year. Statistics provided by the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford of Palo Alto, Calif., show that children ages 14 and under account for one-third of all fall-related visits to hospi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]Yet another embodiment of the present invention is a cover for an intravenous fluid bag comprising: (a) an opaque front surface having a three sided frame attached thereto, wherein a first side of the frame is proximal a bottom edge of the front surface and a second and a third side of the frame are attached to opposed ends of the first side of the frame; (b) a side panel attached to an edge of the front surface substantially perpendicular to the front surface; and (c) a hook attached to an upper edge of the front surface of the cover; whereby whenever the cover is attached to the intravenous fluid bag pole with the hook, the cover blocks the frontal view of the contents of the intravenous fluid bag.

Problems solved by technology

Visits to a hospital can be an intimidating, frightening, and stress producing experience for children.

The fear and anxiety of being in a new environment, confronted with new faces and unfamiliar medical instruments, particularly critical care patients undergoing intravenous treatments, can be intimidating and extremely stressful.

The medical equipment in the hospital environment can also be intimidating, in particular tubes running from the child's hand or arm to a myriad of bags hanging from metal poles on stands causes fear in the child because they realize they are going to be hooked up to or attached to some type of medical equipment.

1591) which could slow and / or hinder recovery, posing an imminent health risk in critically ill children.

Illness and injury themselves cause stress in patients, while the burden of being hooked up to or attached to the equipment and its cumbersome immobility causes additional stress.

While placing items on the walls of the child's hospital room helped to relieve stress by bringing familiar objects in the line of sight of the child, this in and of itself was not a complete solution.

Problems with the prior art, primarily covers placed on or covering the intravenous stands, prove to be expensive and cumbersome and can interfere with medical personnel's monitoring the intravenous bag contents and replacing the intravenous bags and mobility of the stands when outside the hospital room environment.

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